Decommissioning offshore pipeline bundles

摘要

A new study which aims to inform UK government guidelines on environmentally responsible methods for decommissioning offshore pipeline bundles was launched in November. The study was secured with assistance from ITF, the technology facilitator for the global oil and gas industry. Currently, there is no guidance for the industry on decommissioning pipeline bundles and the study aims to provide a basis for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and stakeholders to assess decommissioning proposals.More than 470 offshore installations, 10,000 km of pipelines, 15 onshore terminals and around 5,000 wells constitute part of the North Sea infrastructure which will eventually need to be decommissioned in the UK continental shelf (UKCS) at an estimated cost of between ￡20bn and ￡25bn.